Spiffy:

Iffy:

Haven't gotten to see the multiplayer in action.

Since the beginning of time (well, at least since the series debuted in 2000) the skateboarding games bearing Tony Hawk's name have seen some fairly dramatic changes. The Pro Skater titles were all about pulling off combos and tricks to make your way through the various levels, with very little in the way of a story arc. Tony Hawk's Underground, on the other hand, offered up the same multi-level gameplay, except it was all wrapped up in a coherent (well, maybe not in the case of THUG 2) storyline. If our early impressions are any indication, it looks like developer Neversoft will be giving gamers the next giant leap in Tony's evolution by offering up a massive, streaming world that can be explored to your heart's content.

From the beginning, you'll notice that Tony Hawk's American Wasteland is a different type of animal altogether. While the previous games in the series offered up a tutorial level or a character creation screen, Wasteland throws you right into the action. Your character, who just wants to get away from his stifling Midwestern family, steps off a bus in Los Angeles, only to get beaten up and robbed by a band of street punks. Thankfully, you've got a guardian angel of sorts: a cute riot-grrl named Mindy. She helps you up, dusts you off, and starts you on the adventure of a lifetime.

Mindy introduces you to the local skate crew, a group that's lead by an old school, 80's punk who's been skating since way back in the day. It turns out that he owns a chunk of land that you later come to realize is built on top of a historic skate park. As you progress through the game, you'll need to pick up pieces from around town in an attempt to restore the park to its former glory. Of course, doing things like this are never as easy as they initially sound, which is exactly the case here. If you want to be successful at getting your hands on the piece you need, you'll have to learn how to make the right moves.

One of the coolest things about Wasteland is the teaching mechanic that's been set up for your player to learn new moves. In order to pick up some new tricks, you have to skate around, searching for local skaters. Once you find one, talking to him will cause him to perform the trick for you, at which point he'll ask you to attempt the same. While this isn't necessarily new to the series, it actually serves a purpose here, as there are some sections of the level that can't be accessed without knowing certain tricks.